1964Loudmouth parents jeopardize Little League baseball

Police were searching for a bandit who escaped from his own attempted holdup with beer in his face and bullet holes in his car. The tavern, Sterling’s Lounge, was located about five miles outside of Liberal on U.S. Hwy. 83, just across the state line in Oklahoma.

The owner of the tavern, Gerald Sterling, told Sheriff Howard Smith that he was alone in the tavern when a man came in and ordered a beer. Sterling turned to get the beer, and then turned around to find the man pointing a gun at him.

When the man demanded all of Sterling’s money, Sterling threw the beer in the bandit’s face. The gun went off, but missed Sterling. The bandit then ran from the tavern, with Sterling in pursuit.

Sterling had a .357 Magnum revolver, and hit the man’s car three times in the rear before it got out of the yard.

The Southwest Daily Times had a picture on the front page of the June 24 edition, featuring a family being presented with the “Beef for Father’s Day” prize. The prize was awarded to the father of the first baby born on Father’s Day.

The winner of 1964’s “Beef for Father’s Day” was John R. Basco, of 1020 N. Midway Drive. Julie Diane Basco was being held by her mother in the picture, and was born at 9:08 a.m., Monday, June 22, 1964, in Epworth Hospital.

The Bascos had been living in Liberal for about two months, and had one other daughter, Theresa, who was 1 1/2 years old.

Robert Elliot of Woodward, Okla., was being treated at Epworth Hospital for head and face cuts and other injuries suffered south of Turpin, Okla.

Elliot was the driver of a 1964 Chevelle, which rolled several times early on a Wednesday morning. Officers reported that Elliot had been going east on U.S. Hwy. 64 and failed to make the curve onto U.S. Hwy. 83 at the Y south of Turpin. Elliot was alone in the car.

The City Recreation Association was concerned about unsportsmanlike conduct of parents at the Little League baseball games each evening.

The CRA was planning to put drastic measures to quiet parents and return the game to the children into effect. If those measures didn’t work, then the baseball program was going to be dropped.

Umpires and coaches quit due to some of the parents’ behavior. Parents were being challenged to behave more maturely, and take the “do-or-die emphasis off of winning.” The article later stated that “trouble starts with T. T rhymes with P, and P stands for parents.”

The sheriff was notified that the VFW club west of Liberal had been burglarized on a Tuesday night, the same day the Petroleum Club was burglarized.

The VFW club had been closed for a few days before the burglary was discovered. Approximately $35 to $40 was thought to have been taken in change from vending and amusement machines in the building.

Earlier, the Petroleum Club loss had been estimated at around $100 in change taken from both the cash register and vending machines. The club also reported the theft of a microphone, and the VFW was missing an amplifier and four speakers.

Facebook

No Iframes

About The High Plains Daily Leader

The High Plains Daily Leader and Southwest Daily Times are published Sunday through Friday and reaches homes throughout the Liberal, Kansas retail trade zone. The Leader & Times is the official newspaper of Seward County, USD No. 480, USD No. 483 and the cities of Liberal and Kismet. The Leader & Times is a member of the Liberal Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Press Association and the Associated Press.

Subscribe

Get the Daily Leader delivered to your home for $101.45 per year in Liberal, or $140 outside Liberal. Call 620-626-0840 for a subscription today. You can receive the print edition or an electronic edition! To subscribe today, email circulation@hpleader.com.